Draco and Luna: School Days
by Firelily10
Summary: Draco's social life: All good. Draco's grades: Not so good. Luna Lovegood is assigned to tutor Draco much to his dismay. Then things start happening, strange unexplainable things. Draco/Luna; please review
1. The Tutor

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters, locations, and/ or events that might be mentioned in this story. No copyright intended.**

**Please review!**

_**I've found a reason to show**_

_**A side of me you didn't know**_

_**A reason for all that I do**_

_**And the reason is you**_

_**-The Reason by Hoobastank **_

**Chapter 1: The Tutor**

Draco Malfoy sat at the end of the Slytherin table in the Great Hall. His friends, Blaise, Goyle, Crabbe, and Pansy were sitting around him talking with him. Pansy nudged his side and he followed her gaze. "Here comes Lovegood" she snickered. Sure enough, Draco saw Luna walking down the aisle towards the Ravenclaw table. As usual, she was wearing a peculiar arrangement of objects and clothing. Draco was staring at her cork cap necklace bouncing up and down as she skipped towards them. "Hey Loony! Nice necklace" he called as she passed. Luna stopped and looked at him, beaming.

"It's supposed to make people happy. I can make you one if you want" Luna said with a twinkle in her blue eyes.

"Watch this" Draco whispered to Pansy. He stood up and walked over to Luna. "No thanks Loony. But you know what would really make me happy?"

"What?"

"A good laugh." And he grabbed Goyle's bowl of brown sugar porridge and poured it all over Luna's blond head. There was an explosion of laughter behind Draco and he sneered at Luna as he said, "There you go Loony, it matches your looks." Luna however, didn't seem to be bothered.

"You really think so?" she asked, her eyes brightening. "You've managed to make my day Draco Malfoy" she said with a smile. Draco frowned as he watched her skip away, her long blond hair swishing back and forth gracefully.

"That was brilliant Draco" Blaise's voice said from behind him. Draco sat back down next to his Slytherin friends.

"Yah, it was wasn't it" he said triumphantly. He sighed in satisfaction. It felt good to be the center of attention, which was one of the things Malfoys did best. He leaned across the table and stole a kiss from Pansy who cackled in her usual high pitched voice. He smiled but the kiss hadn't been exactly satisfying. It felt a little bit empty. Nowadays when he kissed her it didn't seem to mean much. In fact, he did it out of routine mostly then out of want. Oh well, she was Pansy, and Pansy liked to kiss, which was one of the things Pansy did best.

"Mr. Malfoy" a stern, stiff voice called from across the hall. Draco shuddered and stared at Professor McGonagall. She motioned for him to come over. Draco groaned.

"Bloody hell" he moaned as he got up. "I'll be right back guys." He walked over to McGonagall, still keeping his confident cool stride. "You wanted me Professor?" he asked. Her face remained frozen in that usual strict, disapproving expression. She seemed to be the only person his Malfoy charms did not impress.

"Mr. Malfoy I was just looking at your grades for the semester and it seems to me as if you've been lagging behind the rest of your year. I've discussed it with Professor Snape and we've decided that you require a tutor if you wish to pass into the next year." Draco's heart sank. A tutor? He didn't want to waste his precious time with some boring old gasbag! He had better things to do, like Quiditch practice, bothering Potter, and hanging out with his friends! Those all seemed far more important and more entertaining than sitting in a dusty old classroom with some old fart. He could already imagine himself falling fast asleep and drooling all over his desk during tutoring sessions.

"And who exactly will be tutoring me Professor?" he asked, not bothering to hide his irritation.

"That would be Miss Lovegood." He made an odd noise that sounded like he was choking and coughing at the same time. He gasped for air and stared at McGonagall. Was she mad?

"ARE YOU MAD?" he yelled at her.

"There's really no need to yell Mr. Malfoy" McGonagall said calmly. "Miss Lovegood happens to be the best in her year in the Ravenclaw house. We were going to put you with Miss Granger but we decided against it seeing that the two of you have personal issues with each other." Was this really happening? Draco wanted to punch a hole in a wall and scream at the top of his bloody lungs. "You will start your tutoring sessions with Miss Lovegood tomorrow at 8:00 in the morning sharp since that's when your free period is."

"Does she know about it yet?"

"Yes and she seemed excited to learn about it." Draco struggled to keep down his dinner.

"Where exactly will I be meeting her?"

"I have no idea Mr. Malfoy. Perhaps you should ask her yourself." And with that McGonagall walked away. This was not happening. It simply could not be happening. He slunk back to his seat, his shoulders sinking lower and lower with every step.

"So what did that old bat want?" Pansy asked. Draco stared at his porridge, not answering. "Draco what's wrong?" He gulped and muttered the answer which was barely audible. "What?"

"I said…I have to have tutoring session with….Loony" he whispered. Pansy gasped as if she'd just found out a relative died. On the other hand, Blaise, Goyle, and Crabbe started laughing so hard that Goyle spilled food all over himself. "This isn't funny! It's a bloody disaster!" Draco snapped at them, but they continued to laugh.

"What are you going to do?" Pansy asked, her eyes widened. Draco sighed.

"I'd better go ask her where I'm supposed to meet her tomorrow."

"What?! You're going to ask her that in public? What if somebody hears that Draco Malfoy is asking Loony Lovegood where to meet her?" Pansy hissed. "They might think you're cheating on me!"

"But it's not like that!"

"I know but others might…misinterpret it." Draco knew she was right. And besides, even if they didn't misinterpret it, he'd be the laughingstock of the school if they knew he had to be tutored by Luna. But he had to do it. With great reluctance, he got up and walked over to the Ravenclaw table, his friends' laughter behind him.

Luna was sitting by herself as usual, reading The Quibbler. Draco cleared his throat and she turned around. Suddenly he felt like everyone's eyes were on him. "Umm…w…where exactly should I meet you tomorrow…for the…you know, tutoring thing" he mumbled.

"Could you speak up Draco? I'm afraid I've got a few Wrackspurts in my head and it makes me hard at hearing" Luna said in her dreamy, innocent voice. Draco flinched.

"I said, where do I meet you for the tutoring session" he said through clenched teeth. He wanted to die when he heard several people laughing down the aisle.

"In the Astronomy Tower, I think it might be a nice place to-" but Draco was already gone. He'd walked away after hearing 'Astronomy Tower' and because he'd spotted Potter and his friends laughing at him. They'd heard. And now the rest of the school would find out in no time that a Malfoy was having to be taught lessons by a bloodtraitor Lovegood. "I'll see you in the morning Draco! And I suggest you check for Wrackspurts tonight just in case. They might distract you from your lessons" Luna called after him. He ignored her. What were Wrackspurts anyway? He was sick of her raving on about those imaginary creatures every bloody day.

He sat down next to Blaise, who was now honestly trying his hardest to keep from laughing. "I'm sorry this happened to you mate" he said, only he didn't sound sorry at all. He sounded rather amused.

"Yah, me too" Draco replied. "I must be in hell" he muttered and he attempted to bang his head against the table. He missed and instead face planted into his porridge. Great. Just great.


	2. Wrackspurts, Nargles, and Hands

**Chapter 2: Wrackspurts, Nargles, and Hands**

Draco appeared at the top of the stairs to the Astronomy Tower and spotted Luna sitting on the floor, surrounded by books and copies of her father's magazine, The Quibbler. She was wearing a pale pink sweater decorated with baby blue shoelaces, purple high socks, and earrings that appeared no more than rocks attached to misshapen paperclips. "Good morning" Luna said cheerfully. Draco said nothing to acknowledge her. He sat down in front of her, feeling miserable. Several people had spotted him heading towards the Astronomy Tower and this had infuriated him so much that he'd managed to break several paintings on the wall.

"Let's get this over with" he mumbled. Luna didn't seem to notice the tone of gloominess in his voice.

"Brilliant, but before we start I must ask you a very important question" she said, her eyes extremely big. He didn't want to look at her. "Did you clear your head of wrackspurts yet?"

"Oh of course, how could I forget something so monumentally important" Draco said sarcastically. Luna beamed.

"Good, now we can learn in peace. I wanted to start out with Magical Creatures first, since it's your worst subject. Today we're going to learn about Nargles."

"What the bloody hell is a nargle?"

"They hang around mistletoe a lot. They can cause you terrible itching you know. It's quite unfortunate really, since so many people like to kiss under mistletoe. Unfortunately, not a lot of people know about them. I want you to read an article about them in this issue right here" Luna said, pointing to a Quibbler titled Nargles and the Danger They Pose to Society.

"This is ridiculous. I'm supposed to be learning about real creatures, not your stupid imaginary little monster Loony. And everyone knows that everything in The Quibbler is a load of crap" Draco said with a sneer.

"I'm afraid you're mistaken Draco Malfoy. Everything in The Quibbler is fact, and I know this since I help my father write some of it. And Nargles aren't imaginary, as you'll read in this article" Luna said softly and handed the magazine to Draco. He didn't open it. Luna continued to stare at him. There was an awkward silence. "Is something wrong Draco?"

"Yah."

"Oh I see. If you don't know how to read then I should probably start with teaching you that first."

"I CAN READ!" he screamed and furiously opened the magazine to the page marked with the bookmarker. "See? Watch._ Nargles are tiny microscopic creatures that dwell in the mistletoe plant. The majority of people are unaware of the potential threat they pose to society. When…_" and Draco went on to read the entire article out loud.

"See? That wasn't so hard" Luna said in her cheery tone. Draco groaned. "Now I've brought some live Nargles with me but be careful not to get any on you. They're a bit…troublesome." Luna pointed at mistletoe that was hanging right above Draco's head. He screamed and started ruffling up his hair.

"Get them off me!" he shouted. Luna laughed. "What's so funny about this?" he demanded.

"Nothing really. It's just that you said you didn't believe in Nargles, so I don't understand why you'd be so worried about something imaginary." Draco glared at her and said that he still didn't believe in her imaginary creatures, but none the less scooted away from the mistletoe.

Soon Luna had made Draco read the entire Nargle Edition of the Quibbler. "Well I think that'll be enough on Nargles. You don't have any homework since I know you have to meet Pansy later today-"

"How did you know I was meeting Pansy today?" Draco asked, horrified that Loony knew this. Was she watching him? He remembered an article he'd read about dangerous stalkers….

"I heard you talking about it with her last night after dinner. And I understand that you probably don't want to miss out on such a terribly important event. You are Draco Malfoy after all, and in order to remain the Slytherin heart throb you must meet Pansy."

"Well….I suppose you're right" Draco said, looking at her weirdly.

"Well time's up I'm afraid. You should probably go see Pansy know. I suggest that you bring her some blue nightblossoms from outside near the Quiditch pitch. They're really quite beautiful" Luna said. Draco hurriedly grabbed his school bag and started towards the stairs. "Wait!"

Luna grabbed his hand. He stared down at their hands. He wanted to pull away and run down the stairs but something was restricting him from doing so. Why couldn't he force himself to pull away? "Here, I almost forgot to give this to you" Luna said, handing him a cork cap necklace.

"You actually made one for me?"

"Of course. I'm afraid it's not exactly a laugh like you wanted, but it's still good" Luna said, putting the necklace around his neck.

"Um…thanks Luna" he said awkwardly. "I meant Loony!" he added quickly. She beamed at him, not minding the nickname. "I should really get going" he said, walking away.

"But you're still grabbing my hand. Do you want me to go with you? I can give you a tonic for your nerves if you're nervous about Pansy" Luna said. Draco shook Luna's hand away.

"No just…no" he said quickly and hastily ran down the stairs.

"Goodbye Draco!" she called after him.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Draco was out of breath by the time he reached the end of the extremely long flight of stairs. At the bottom Pansy was waiting for him. "There he is!" she said, pulling him roughly towards her into a kiss. After about five seconds Draco already felt like pulling away. The kiss wasn't doing anything for him. It felt even emptier than the night before. They were losing their spark.

When he was finally able to pull away, he wiped his mouth. Pansy gasped. "It wasn't that bad was it?" she asked in a horrified voice.

"No it's just…uh, the Nargles…they're making my mouth itchy" Draco replied. She glared at him. For a second it looked like she was going to strangle him with the cork necklace he was wearing.

"STOP LYING TO ME MALFOY!" she screeched and stormed away. And to his surprise, Draco didn't feel like chasing after her.


	3. The Unexplained

**Chapter 3: The Changes**

For the next two weeks Draco continued to meet with Luna in the Astronomy Tower. At first, he felt like he wanted to jump out of the tower or at least push her off to stop her insane rambling about Wrackspots or whatever they were. But after a while, he got used to it. The only other thing that changed was his grades in Care for Magical Creatures. They seemed to be getting better with every assignment. But aside from that, outside classes and tutoring, things were the same. Draco and his friends continued to tease Luna whenever she passed. It was obvious that Draco didn't have an ounce of respect for Luna. But quite suddenly, that all changed.

Draco was sitting with Luna in the Astronomy Tower during their usual time. Today she looked slightly tired, her face a bit paler than usual. "So it's not called a Wrackspot?" he asked.

"No, but the name isn't quite important as long as you cleanse yourself of them every week" Luna replied. Draco hadn't told anyone, but he'd actually been doing the spell Luna had taught him to cleanse himself of Wrackspurts. He told himself that he was only doing it because it was technically schoolwork, not because he actually believed in those ridiculous hallucinations.

"What's next?"

"We're done for today" Luna said, gathering the books and scattered Quibblers. "Want to walk down with me?"

"Yes" Draco said immediately. Why had he done that? "I mean no."

"That's alright" Luna said, handing Draco the Quibbler he had been assigned to read. "You know, I'm actually enjoying these little sessions Draco Malfoy. It's almost like being with a friend" she said. He didn't want to responds because he wasn't sure if he could say the same…could he? As much as he hated to admit it, spending time talking about imaginary creatures with Luna as if they were real made him forget about the world outside. It was as if in that tower, he didn't have to be a Malfoy. In there, he was just Draco. Just Draco. Sometimes he even…no, no that couldn't be true. It was simply absurd to think that a Malfoy was enjoying the company of a Lovegood. "You're sure you don' t want to walk down with me?"

Well, if nobody was around to see….Draco supposed it'd be fine. "Oh alright" he said, trying his best to sound reluctant. The two walked down the stairs together, not really talking much. As they walked down the stairs, Luna nearly tripped. "Woah" he cried, catching her. She looked at him.

"Thank you very much Draco. That would've been awful if I'd fallen. The Wrackspurts would've gone into a frenzy." She stood up straight and continued down the stairs. Draco was half hoping that she'd fall again, and not because he wanted a laugh.

They reached the end of the stairs and saw Pansy, Goyle, Crabbe, and Blaise standing there waiting. "Hey there Loony" Pansy said with a smirk.

"Hello Pansy! Enjoying your day?" Luna asked politely.

"Not quite yet" Pansy said, striding over towards Luna. She suddenly lashed out her hand and Luna dropped all over the books and Quibblers she'd been holding. "Whoops" Pansy said, kicking some across the hall. "Fetch" she said with a laugh. The others started to chuckle and snort uncontrollably. Luna didn't do anything.

"I'm sorry Pansy, but I'm not very good at playing fetch, though I assumed you might be. Isn't that what dogs do?" Luna said. There were no traces of anger or defiance in her voice or in her expression, but Draco sensed that Luna had been waiting to say that for a while. He watched Pansy's face turn several shades of red.

"How dare you speak to me that way" she gasped. She pulled out her wand from her robes and pointed it at Luna.

"Expelliarmus!"

Pansy glared at Draco as her wand flew out of her hand. "What are you doing?" she hissed. He didn't know how to answer that question at all. Why had he done that? "Nevermind." Then Pansy turned to Luna. "Draco won't always be there to defend you, just like your stupid mother." Something inside Luna seemed to snap. The usual calmness about her faded.

"Don't you speak about my mother_ please_" Luna said. She said the last word with the sarcasm. Luna was now glaring at Pansy. He'd never seen her so angry…in fact, he'd never even seen Luna angry at all. Pansy was now laughing hard.

"What are you going to do about Loony? What if I said…I don't know, maybe that your filthy bloodtraitor mother got what was coming to her? I mean, that's what she got for doing stupid experimenting!"

"Be quiet!" Luna shouted. Everyone was silent. Luna had never, not once, ever raised her voice. Luna started to wipe away the tears that were quickly falling from her eyes. She ran down the corridor, disappearing around the corner. Draco stared after her. Pansy strolled up to him, still laughing. The others however had stopped.

"Don't worry darling, I know you're not right in the head. It must be awful spending hours with that loony Lovegood, filling your head with uselessness. Come back to the common room with us and I'll kiss your madness away." She leaned in to kiss him but he pulled away.

"Just shut up for once" he snapped at her. She looked as if she'd been slapped as he ran away from her, chasing after Luna. He didn't have time to think about why he was doing this, why he was acting so bizarrely.

He found Luna sitting in another empty corridor, sobbing. He went and sat down next to her. "Here, this is supposed to cheer you up" he whispered. He pulled out the cork cap necklace she'd given him out of his pocket. He'd been carrying it around with him, thinking it actually worked. She took it gratefully and put it over her own.

"Thank you" she mumbled.

"Look don't listen to whatever Pansy says. She doesn't know what she's talking about" Draco said.

"That's okay Draco Malfoy. I never really listened to anything negative other people say to me. Usually I wouldn't have minded much…but…my mum." There was a silence for a few minutes. "I didn't mean to yell, really I didn't…I feel awful" Luna said, putting her head in her hands.

"No, it's okay really. I've been waiting for someone to stand up to Pansy for years now! Nobody's ever gotten her to shut up" he said. Luna looked up at him and laughed, wiping away some of her tears. She started to give his necklace back to him but he stopped her. "You need it more than I do."

"Thank you. May I ask you a question Draco?"

"Sure…anything."

"Are you sure you don't have Wrackspurts? Usually you don't act this way."

"I guess we're both having an off day."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Draco had returned to the Slytherin common room. He spotted Pansy talking to a group of Slytherin girls, no doubt spreading awful gossip about him. Not that it mattered much. His reputation was already ruined by his lessons with Loony. He slinked away to his dormitory.

Draco collapsed on his bed. He didn't understand why he'd done those things. A bloodtraitor like Lovegood certainly didn't deserve his sympathy. He should've just let Pansy go off on her. Why had he done that? "I'm mad, I must be! Pansy was right, spending too much time with Loony is making me go insane! I need to get my head straight" he thought bitterly to himself. He pulled a pillow over his face and screamed into it. This was not a good day for him.

Feeling more confused than ever, Draco grabbed a copy of The Quibbler from his bedside table, hoping to get lost in the ridiculousness of it so that he might temporarily forget the mess he was in.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

Draco's friends did not speak to him the following day. The other Slytherins must've listened to Pansy's gossip and were now avoiding him. Draco was soon becoming desperate to bring back his image. For the next few days, he'd thought that maybe if someone saw him teasing Luna they'd stop believing whatever Pansy had said, but every time he passed her he found himself unable to say a word to her.

To his horror, more unexplainable things happened. Firstly, he began looking forward to his sessions with Luna. Up there, he felt distant from the rest of his life. It gave him a place where for a while he could forget about his image, forget about the whispers around him. Secondly, he started experiencing strange behavior around Luna. Sometimes during classes she'd go to sit next to him and he wouldn't object. And sometimes he'd find himself distracted during her lessons. Not because he was thinking about something else, but because he'd find himself staring into her eyes. There was something about her. Her eyes, her voice, her hair, her smile…all of it made him feel calm, almost in a stupor. It felt good. It felt good to get lost in her eyes. It made him feel happy. He was even starting to think that Luna actually looked a tiny bit attractive. He actually liked to watch her long blond hair bounce up and down as she skipped down the halls. This was probably what bothered him the most. And thirdly…well, it had happened during Quiditch practice.

Draco had been in the middle of a warm up exercise with the Slytherin House Quiditch Team when he'd spotted a blond figure in the stands. Luna. Why was she watching? He'd been trying very hard not to speak to her all week, hoping that the strange behavior would stop; only it hadn't worked. Luna waved at him. He tried not to smile. Maybe people wouldn't notice her looking at h-WHAM! The bludger had come out of nowhere. Suddenly he was falling, the ground rushing towards him. Bam! Pain shot through his body. He groaned loudly. Everything was blurry. His head…oh jeez. Everything went dark.

Draco awoke in the hospital wing with somebody sitting next to his bed. "Have nice dreams Draco? Don't worry, I cleansed you of Wrackspurts while you were sleeping so they wouldn't wake you up" Luna voice said. His vision came into focus. Luna was smiling down at him.

"How long have I been out?"

"About two days. The concussion was pretty bad but Madame Promfrey fixed you up." He rubbed his head and groaned. He could feel a huge bump where the bludger had hit him. "Do you always mumble in your sleep Draco?" Luna asked suddenly.

"I don't mumble!"

"Oh…maybe it wasn't mumbling, more like muttering. At first I thought you were awake, but I realized you were just sleep talking. Don't worry, I do it sometimes to."

"What did I say exactly?"

"Not much. From the sounds of it, you were probably dreaming about being chased by giant Nargles." Luna laughed. Draco's face went red. "And you said something else too…at first I thought you were saying my name but that couldn't have been right. Malfoys aren't supposed to dream about bloodtraitors. I wouldn't want you to get into trouble, so I didn't say anything. But I suppose you weren't really saying my name. It must've been something else. Right Draco?"

"Umm…yah, you're absolutely right."

"Absolutely positively" Luna piped. Draco wanted to cry. He'd been mumbling her name in his sleep. He was mad, there was no doubt about it. Draco Malfoy had gone mad.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Luna looked surprised when she saw her owl flying into the Great Hall during breakfast. She never really got mail. The letter was dropped in her lap. Filled with upmost curiosity, Luna opened the letter and read it over carefully. She felt a smile come across her face. She had no idea what had happened that had changed Draco Malfoy, but she knew one thing: she definitely liked this new Draco better.


	4. Pig Snouts and Kisses

**Chapter 4: Pig Snouts and Kisses**

The letter that Luna had received had been attached to a flier announcing a school dance. The letter had said the following:

Dear Luna,

Um I have no idea how to put this really. It's kind of awkward. Okay here it goes. Will you go to the dance with me? As friends. Just friends. I think. What do you think? Nevermind, that doesn't matter. No, I mean, of course what you think matters! It matters more to me than…look, just let me know what your answer is tomorrow during our tutoring session. Please answer. I need an answer. I think I'm going mad. Help me!

Sincerely,

Draco

XxXxXxXxXx

She's going to say no

_You don't know that_

Yes I do. She'll say no. Besides, it'd be humiliating to go with her anyway

_It it's so humiliating then why'd you ask her?_

Because I….

_Say it_

I'm afraid to

_SAY IT!_

I'm in love with Luna Lovegood!...OH MY GODRIC GRYFFINDOR!

_Oh don't act like you don't know it's true_

I'm insane

_Is Draco Malfoy losing his nerve?_

No

_Yes_

Shut up!

Draco stopped arguing with himself as he was approaching the Astronomy Tower. He sighed. This was it.

Luna looked worse than usual. Her skin was extremely pale and she was thinner than usual. All the same, she had a cheerful expression on her face. She was wearing a new silver bracelet with little hearts on it. "Yes."

"What?"

"Yes. It's my answer to your delightful request…unless of course you've somehow had a change of thought over night-"

"No of course not…um that's great! You're going with me…you, Luna Lovegood…with me to the dance…in front of people…somebody pinch me."

"Why would you feel the need to be pinched?" Luna asked.

"I…I don't know…never mind" Draco said angrily. He couldn't believe it! How had he gotten into this mess?! Now he was going to a stupid dance with Loony…not that he minded at all. It was going to be amazing…no horrible…but how could being with Luna be horrible?

XxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"You can do this…just calm down, breathe, relax, you're a Malfoy for crying out loud!" Draco thought as he waited outside the Great Hall for Luna to arrive. He felt a mixture of joy and the need to vomit thinking about how things were going to go. What if he screwed things up? What if Luna didn't enjoy herself? What would other people think when they saw him with her? What if-

"Hello Draco." Draco turned around and saw Luna in a pale pink dress covered in glitter. It had a funny Christmas tree-like shape to it and it bounced when she walked. "Would you like to go inside the Great Hall? That's where everyone else is going. But we can stay out here if you want to, I don't really mind."

"What? No, of course. Let's go."

Draco knew trouble was coming the minute they entered the Great Hall together. Pansy and a group of Slytherin were snickering as they passed them. "Lovegood!" Pansy called. Draco kept walking but Luna stopped.

"Hello Pansy" Luna said calmly. Draco wanted to slap himself. Great, this wasn't going to be good.

"That's a very pretty dress you have on" Pansy said with an artificial sweetness in her voice.

"Thanks."

"I'm assuming Draco here made it for you since your mum isn't around to help you dress shop" Pansy sneered.

"No Draco didn't pick it out with me, but he thinks it looks beautiful all the same, don't you Draco?" Luna said, turning to him. Why did she have to bring him into this?

"Yah I do" he said, glaring at Pansy. Why couldn't she just shut up?

"Aww, isn't that sweet? Draco and Loony make a wonderful couple don't they? The two biggest rejects in the school. I have to say Draco, you've really fallen low, maybe even lower than Longbottom!"

Draco felt like punching her. He didn't care if Pansy was a girl or not. But he felt Luna gently put an arm on him. "Just calm down" she whispered.

"Lovegood, why don't you show us a magic trick?" Pansy teased as Draco led Luna away from them. "Maybe you can make Draco disappear, just like your mummy." That was the last straw.

Draco pulled out his wand and yelled "Emmpigmente!" at Pansy. She shrieked and everyone turned to stare. Pansy tried her best to cover her nose but it was too late, hundreds had already seen the pig snout on her face.

"DRACO!" she screamed. Draco couldn't stop himself from laughing. Luna however seemed to be the only one who wasn't laughing. She was walking up to Pansy…wait, walking up to Pansy?

"I can fix that for you if you'd like" Luna offered.

"Stay away from me freak! You'll get what's coming to you, mark my words" Pansy snapped and walked away in a huff. Luna walked back to Draco.

"That was awfully nice of you to defend me like that Draco, but poor Pansy had a pig nose now and I don't think it was the nicest thing to do to her."

Draco shrugged. "I think a pig nose suits her though. I think I might've made an improvement." Luna couldn't help from laughing that time. The music had started at this point. "Care for a dance?"

"Sure" Luna said, grabbing his hand as he led her onto the dance floor. Not many people were dancing. The music was awful, but Luna didn't seem to mind. Draco didn't care that she didn't know how to dance. He watched her twirl around with her arms waving in the air. He had no idea what she was trying to pull off, but not wanting to make her look too foolish, he joined in. For once in his life, Draco wasn't paying attention to the people around him. He didn't seem to notice that people were pointing and staring at them. It didn't matter. Only one thing mattered…Luna.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Where are you going?"

"If you want to find out your only choice is to follow" Luna replied. The dance wasn't even halfway through yet and she wanted to leave? Whatever, if that's what she wanted. Draco followed her out of the Great Hall. Outside were a few Hufflepuff girls crying, and a Ravenclaw couple snogging. "This way" Luna said, leading him down an empty corridor. After about five minutes of walking, Draco realized that they were headed for the Astronomy Tower.

"Are we having a session right now?"

"No" Luna replied simply. Together they climbed the winding stairway until they reached the top. Luna walked towards the railway and stared up at the sky. Draco followed. The night sky was filled with thousands of tiny sparkling dots, but that wasn't what put him in awe. He was too busy staring at Luna. The moonlight fell onto her angelic face, hitting her at just the right angle. Her hair seemed to glow and the stars were reflected in her eyes, making them twinkle even more than usual. "It's beautiful isn't it?"

"Yah" Draco replied dreamily.

"There isn't any mistletoe around you know, so it's safe" Luna said.

"What are you talking about?"

"This." And Luna leaned in and kissed him. The taste of her lips made a fire ignite inside his chest. It was burning, roaring like a lion. The feeling continued to burn with passion with every passing minute. Who knew Luna could kiss like that! Who knew Luna was so….so….Draco couldn't think of any words. They pulled away and Luna reached around her neck where two cork cap necklaces were. She pulled them off and dropped them off the tower.

"Why'd you do that?"

"Because I've found something else that makes me happy. I don't really need those anymore" she replied. Draco smiled and leaned in to kiss her again. Wait…something was wrong with her. Her eyelids were dropping and she was suddenly ghostly white.

"Luna?"

Luna fell limp into his arms, still, cold, lifeless. "LUNA!" She didn't respond. Just then, his eye caught on something on her wrist. It was the silver bracelet that he'd seen her wearing earlier. It had turned black. Something wasn't right. He pulled it from her wrist and she gasped for air, her eyes flickering open. "Who gave this to you?" Draco demanded, waving the bracelet in her face.

"Pansy" Luna muttered. Pansy. "She said it was supposed to be a charm to help me fall asleep….oh no."

"Get to the hospital wing" Draco said, leaving Luna and running towards the stairs.

"Where are you going?"

"To make sure Pansy gets what she deserves" he said angrily.

"Is that right?" came a voice from the stairway. Pansy Parkinson appeared, stepping from the shadows. Her nose hadn't fully transformed back to normal and she had a maniac look in her eyes. She had her wand pointed straight at Luna. "Well just to make sure things are fair, I'm going to make sure she gets what she deserves too. CRUCIO!"

Draco jumped to the side.

Luna closed her eyes but nothing happened. She heard Draco scream. She stared at Draco, who was on the floor writhing. The curse had hit him instead. He'd saved her. Feeling intense anger that she'd never felt before, Luna pulled out her wand. "Expelliarmus!" she yelled. Pansy's wand flew into the air. Luna caught it.

"How dare you!" Pansy screeched.

At this point, Draco had gotten up. He staggered next to Luna and took Pansy's wand from her. "Go fetch" he called to Pansy and tossed her wand out of the tower. Pansy shrieked and ran towards the rails but it was too late. The wand was gone. She turned to Draco, her eyes livid. "See you around Pansy" he said and without another word he grabbed Luna and ran down the stairs.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

"It's the last song, you wanna dance?" Draco asked. Luna nodded.

"I'd like that very much." He helped her up and walked her over to the dance floor. The slow music started and he put one hand around her tiny waist. He felt the fire in his chest start to burn when she gently placed her head upon his chest. She closed her eyes and smiled. The two of them danced slowly, holding each other, not thinking about anything else. Nothing else mattered really, not anymore. "Draco?"

"Yes?"

"I…I" but Luna never finished because she dropped onto the floor, eyes closed, chest not moving. The hand that the cursed bracelet had been around was now completely black. The curse was still there.

"SOMEBODY HELP HER!" Draco screamed, falling on his knees next to Luna. For so long, his biggest fear had been losing his image, being considered a reject, not being a socialite. Now it was that Luna Lovegood might never open those sparkling eyes of hers ever again.


	5. Don't Say Goodbye

**Chapter 5: Don't Say Goodbye**

Draco sat next to Luna's bed in the hospital wing. It had been a week since she'd fallen limp on the dance floor. The school healers had tried their best to remove the curse from Luna's hand, but it had spread to the rest of her arm. Healers from St. Mungo's had come to help her, but even they couldn't help Luna's eyes open. Whatever Pansy had done to the bracelet, it had been very dark magic.

Draco hadn't left Luna's side, not even to eat. McGonagall had brought him food and tried to make him eat but he'd only take a bite and say he wasn't hungry. How could he eat knowing that there was a good chance that Luna might never wake up again? He was determined to stay with her until she woke up. He talked to her, every single day as if she were still awake. He recited articles from The Quibbler that she'd taught him, hoping it might arouse her. He'd even dared to kiss her frozen lips, hold her hand, even sang to her the song they'd last danced to. Nothing helped.

At night, Draco would crawl into the bed with her and rest his head on her shoulder, thinking in the morning she'd awake with him. But with every single sunrise, Luna's eyes remained shut. Draco spent hours making sure that her chest was moving up and down. He wasn't going to lose the best thing that'd ever happened to him.

Luna's friends, Potter, Granger, and the Weasleys all came by to see her. Draco hadn't bothered to even say anything to him. Granger had even tried to comfort him, but he hadn't been in the mood to listen. Life had stopped for Draco. And he refused to continue without Luna. He absolutely refused.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

"Do it." Draco watched the healer plunge the needle into Luna's arm. The shot would wake her for only half an hour then….then it'd be over. The curse was one of powerful dark magic, and the healers had concluded that it could not be healed.

Luna's eyes opened slowly and looked at Draco for a few moments, as if she didn't recognize him. "Draco?" she said weakly. Draco smiled, trying not to cry.

"I've got a question for you" he told her, holding her hands in his.

"Why then you must ask it" she replied.

"I don't have a ring, but I've got these instead" he said, holding up the cork cap necklaces. "Marry me?"

Luna was silent for a few moments. "How much time do we have?"

"Only about half an hour."

"Yes…it was always yes" Luna said. Draco smiled. He motioned the reverend over.

"I'm sorry I'm not in a suit, but I got you this veil" he said, placing the white fabric on Luna's head. She smiled. The reverend walked up to them and Luna's friends, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny walked into the room.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate the joining of this man and this woman. Draco Malfoy, do you take this woman as your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do."

"To have and to hold?"

"I do."

"In sickness or in health?"

"Yes."

"Till death do you part?"

"No….I'll never stop loving her…even after death" he replied. The reverend shrugged. He asked Luna the same questions and she answered every one with an 'I do.'

"You may now exchange the, er, necklaces" the reverend said. Luna was so weak that she was barely able to place the necklace around Draco's neck. "Now you may exchange your own vows."

Luna went first. "Even now when it's hard to speak, I still have some things I want to say. First of all, never tickle a sleeping dragon. Secondly, Wrackspurts and Nargles are real. And thirdly, Draco…I can't imagine having gone through life without you. You're positively wonderful in every imaginable way and I can honestly say that I'm glad to have you by my side." The words weren't many, yet they meant the world to Draco.

"Luna, I'll admit that I wasn't thrilled when you were assigned to be my tutor. But before I knew it, I found myself falling in love with the perfect girl. And I couldn't have stopped myself if I tried…because you're everything I wasn't. You're kind, loving, patient, compassionate….the most beautiful person, inside and out. Nobody will ever replace you. And…you have no idea how much I wish that it had been me instead of you." Draco was crying now. "I'd do anything for you. And I wish that there was some way I could….I'll come find you, just as long as you promise that you'll be up there waiting for me. I promise that this isn't the end."

Luna's eyes were glistening with tears. "You may now kiss your bride" the reverend said. Draco leaned in and kissed her. The fire was burning harder than it ever had. And even as Luna's lips went limp, and her head fell onto his chest, lifeless, the fire continued to burn. Draco pulled away from her and saw that she was gone. He sat next to her on the bed and lied down next to her and closed his eyes, feeling the fire still burning in his chest. He closed his eyes. He never opened them again.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

Draco saw a bright light. All around him was a golden glow. He felt no more pain, no more sadness, he couldn't even remember what had just happened. He didn't even know where he was. He was concentrating on the figure in front of him. Surely it had to be an angel. The girl had long, flowy blond hair and sparkling blue eyes. Her face was pure and innocent. She gently touched his hand. She was wearing a white veil and had a cork cap necklace around her neck. "I knew you'd keep your promise. I knew you'd find me up here" the girl said. Draco smiled. Everything was at peace.


End file.
